Cowboys 1st & 10: A Dez Reunion, NFL Mock Drafts and Dak & Brady Gossip

In this edition of Cowboys 1st & 10 I ponder whether it’s the right thing to bring Dez Bryant back to Dallas, those Dak Prescott and Tom Brady Rumors, and my latest Cowboys 7-round NFL mock draft.

FRISCO - In this edition of Dallas Cowboys 1st & 10, I ponder whether it’s the right thing to bring Dez Bryant back to Dallas, those Dak Prescott and Tom Brady Rumors, and my latest Cowboys 7-round NFL mock draft.

1) LET’S BRING BACK DEZ? HMMM….

It started about this time a week ago. Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence was publicly calling for the Cowboys to bring back former wide receiver Dez Bryant. Lawrence, during an ask me anything interview with Bleacher Report, said "If 88, 'The X Factor,' wants a shot we gotta give him a shot."

Usually, a player calling for a former player’s return doesn’t get much traction. But, if we go back to a piece our Mike Fisher wrote recently in talking with Bryant, the former Cowboy was striking a tune that he’s ready to return and he’s not looking to be the No. 1 option.

“I’m where I need to be (physically) right now,” Bryant told CowboysSI.com. “I’m more serious than ever. ... I know I would respect my role (as a supplemental player) — and make a huge impact.”

Plus, there’s an East Texas connection that, well, really has nothing at all to do with the Cowboys but is just fun, honestly. Bryant is from Lufkin, about two hours south of Whitehouse, where Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is from. Mecole Hardman, who is now a Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs, shouted out on Twitter that he was ready to start working out with his “man,” Dez Bryant. Bryant, in turn, responded on Twitter.

Yessir .... let’s get it brotha... https://t.co/nCN944z40t

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) February 7, 2020

Then, naturally, Mahomes chimed in.

I’ll see y’all there 💪🏽 https://t.co/MgDwPo7ETJ

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) February 7, 2020

If we want to read between the lines here, don’t be surprised if Hardman, Bryant and Mahomes are throwing the football together somewhere this spring, hopefully somewhere in East Texas so we can all come watch. (Actually, Fish reports that it's going to be at APEC in Fort Worth.)

Then, late this week, Bryant took matters into his own hands, texting the Cowboys — specifically the team’s chief operating officer, Stephen Jones — to let him know he’s open to returning to Dallas. Jones confirmed that during radio interviews and Jones didn’t completely dismiss the notion, either.

“He has texted me that he would like to come back,” Jones said to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We have nothing but great respect for Dez and what he accomplished here. Certainly, as we look forward into the future we look at all opportunities and all potential players that could maybe help us out.”

I spent the better part of Saturday covering the Kansas-TCU men’s basketball game and then seeing Miranda Lambert in Dallas (hey, we’re both from East Texas, so I have to support the East Texas folks when they come through town). So I had a lot of time to consider whether bringing Bryant back is right for the Cowboys. And I think the Cowboys should stand pat.

If Jason Garrett were still the head coach there would be no traction here. Bryant was downright celebratory when Garrett left the building. Most of Garrett’s offensive staff is gone. The Cowboys are installing Mike McCarthy’s offense but keeping the terminology from the Garrett era for transition purposes. Would that help or hurt Bryant? Probably neither, honestly.

But with the current roster configuration, Bryant would most assuredly be a third or fourth option. Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup are the Top 2 receivers on this team and that’s not changing. With McCarthy in town I think they’re keen on keeping Randall Cobb here, which would give them their No. 3. After that, how many more footballs are there to go around? Bryant says he’s OK with not being the top dog on the depth chart. Only time would tell us for certain.

People always have questions about Bryant’s attitude, too. I would contend that for the last four years of his stay in Dallas those questions were ridiculous. He matured on and off the field. He avoided the trouble that plagued him his early years. He wasn’t the distraction that he had been previously. But every time Bryant “did” something, it magnified well beyond how it should have been taken. Let me ask you this question — has Bryant done anything that you would consider ‘controversial’ since his injury? And, no, stuff he posts on Twitter doesn’t count. The answer is no.

So why would I say no to a reunion between Bryant and Dallas? They don’t need him. It’s really that simple. Between Cooper, Gallup, Cobb (assuming the Cowboys re-sign him), Ezekiel Elliott (don’t forget this guy catches a ton of balls) and the rest of the roster I don’t see how Bryant gets much in the way of a snack in this offense, much less a full-blown meal. I think he would just end up taking up space. From experience I can tell you most coaches don’t like that.

Now, if you’re a Bryant fan, there’s good news here. The Cowboys don’t have to decide now. They can wait out free agency and the draft. Maybe Cobb does bolt. Maybe Tavon Austin does too. Maybe the Cowboys don’t address wide receiver in the draft. Then the math changes, perhaps. No one is beating down Bryant’s door to employ him. Yet.

And that gives everyone time to make the right choice.

TCU DT Ross Blacklock. (College Football America Yearbook photo by Matthew Postins)

2) OUR SECOND CowboysSI 7-ROUND MOCK DRAFT

Earlier this week I published my second Cowboys SI 7-Round Mock Draft. I stuck with defense the first round, although I tapped a different position. And it definitely influenced how the rest of the mock draft went. This is the time of year when we run scenarios. Does this one work for you? Give it a read, and get ready because the grand reset is coming when the Cowboys and the rest of the NFL hit the Scouting Combine at the end of the month.

Click here to view the second Mock Draft. And keep an eye out for my third mock draft come Tuesday, and every Tuesday until the NFL Draft.

And, don’t forget, my previous 7-round mocks are below:

Mock Draft 1.0 (Jan. 27)

3) POSITION-BY-POSITION BREAKDOWNS

Our position-by-position breakdowns for the Cowboys, and how it could impact the Cowboys in free agency, are now complete. We’ll explore the draft needs further once free agency is relatively complete. But, for now, here are our current assessments:

Quarterback

Running back

Wide receiver

Offensive line

Tight end

Defensive line

Linebacker

Defensive back

Special Teams

4) NOW IT’S LEE EXPLORING HIS OPTIONS

Last week the Athletic’s Jon Machota wrote that Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten expressed his desire to play in 2020. It was also clear that Witten’s desire to play wasn’t necessarily tied to be a Dallas Cowboys tight end in 2020.

Well, now it’s Sean Lee’s turn.

Lee talked with our Mike Fisher exclusively last week about his plans for 2020. Nothing is concrete yet, but Lee is mulling his options. It’s not clear if those options are outside the organization. But in a recent interview, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that retaining Lee was the team’s third desired option after quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Why? Our Mike Fisher explains the logic right here.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott

5) AS FOR DAK …

There was plenty of contract talk this week when it came to Dak Prescott’s impending contract. So let’s attack it linearly, shall we?

On Super Bowl Sunday it sounded like the two sides were at odds to some degree. Prescott believes the Cowboys and his agent can get a deal done without a franchise tag. Our Mike Fisher reported that there are some sources who aren’t so certain.

On Tuesday attention turned to Jerry Jones’ yacht, the same one he rode to Super Bowl XVIL. Yep, one media outlet actually tied these contract negotiations to Jones’ sweet ride. Fisher broke down why it was, well, a razor-thin connection.

Then, on Saturday, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer was asked about Prescott’s contract in a mailbag, and Glazer built on reporting that our Fisher did earlier this season — that Prescott has not been offered, and has never asked for — $40 million per year.

The point is, there is negotiating to be done between the Cowboys and Prescott. And, according to Stephen Jones, the Cowboys’ chief contract negotiator, it’s about to heat up, as he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

I have no doubt a deal will get done. But I do have one question:

Why on earth aren’t we talking about Amari Cooper? That’s a little mind-boggling right now.

6) CELEBRATING THE COWBOYS’ 60TH

The Dallas Cowboys are celebrating their 60th season in the NFL in 2020 and our new contributor, Richie Whitt, is counting down the 60 biggest moments in franchise history. Here’s the link to the full list.

Click here for the complete list.

7) THE TOM BRADY-TO-DALLAS STUFF NEEDS TO STOP

On Saturday our Mike Fisher posted a piece on Michael Irvin’s interview with WEEI radio in Boston about the whole idea of the Cowboys trading Dak Prescott to the New England Patriots for Tom Brady.

Irvin, if you missed it, said he had conversations with “very significant people” about the topic.

After the interview, Irvin posted to Twitter that he never said Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones told him about this, or that Jones is one of the “significant” people he referred to.

This whole thing seems ridiculous, but because Irvin said it — and because Fox radio personality Colin Cowherd predicted this week that Brady would eventually land in Dallas — it’s news. Irvin is not a journalist, so I’ll cut him slack for what amounts to a “sources” story. Cowherd was just talking out of his head because he has three hours to fill on the radio.

This isn’t happening. And it needs to stop. Unless Jerry says it. And then I’ll listen.

8) AN EXCLUSIVE WITH KRIS RICHARD

Earlier this week our Mike Fisher nailed an exclusive with former Cowboys secondary coach Kris Richard, who is now looking for his next NFL job. See what Richard had to say about the Cowboys and his time in Dallas in Mike’s latest.

9) TWEET OF THE WEEK

The @dallascowboys led the NFL with an average attendance of over 90,000 fans.

No other team in the NFL averaged more than 80,000. pic.twitter.com/0tCJaZJz4j

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 7, 2020

10) THE FINAL WORD

The phrase "clickbait'' is thrown around quite a bit. Please understand what it is we do here in terms of journalism: If Michael Irvin says something newsworthy about the Cowboys - and if it also happens to include mentions of Dak, Brady, Jerry Jones and the Patriots - yes, we would like you to click on it. But it's not a trick. It's not a gimmick. We might have our editorial opinion that it's silly or that it's the wrong direction for the Cowboys to do, but ... It's news.